Positive effect of strength training.
yirara
Posts: 10,090 Member
Guys, especially @SideSteel,
here's an interesting question with regards to strength training. I suffer from generally low energy levels if I don't get something to eat in time. For me this means I might crash if my second breakfast or any other of my frequent meals is just 10 minutes late. With crash I mean I feel like I'm completely hypoglycaemic, though I don't know if I am actually as I never managed to get a blood test done during a crash. I can do most activities only for just over an hour, be it a slow walk in the park, a run, groceries shopping or cleaning my flat, and then I desperately need something to eat as I'd otherwise crash.
Odd thing is though: If I do strength training, doesn't matter if it's weight lifting or some light bodyweight exercises just twice per week this is less of a problem. I don't crash anymore and my energy lasts just a bit longer. Even if I stop strength training this effect lasts for a couple of more weeks until I'm at daily risk of crashing again. Regular running does not provide this effect. Is there any explanation for this? If I ask my GP she just goes blank-eyed as nutrician, energy and sports is not something taught at medical school.
here's an interesting question with regards to strength training. I suffer from generally low energy levels if I don't get something to eat in time. For me this means I might crash if my second breakfast or any other of my frequent meals is just 10 minutes late. With crash I mean I feel like I'm completely hypoglycaemic, though I don't know if I am actually as I never managed to get a blood test done during a crash. I can do most activities only for just over an hour, be it a slow walk in the park, a run, groceries shopping or cleaning my flat, and then I desperately need something to eat as I'd otherwise crash.
Odd thing is though: If I do strength training, doesn't matter if it's weight lifting or some light bodyweight exercises just twice per week this is less of a problem. I don't crash anymore and my energy lasts just a bit longer. Even if I stop strength training this effect lasts for a couple of more weeks until I'm at daily risk of crashing again. Regular running does not provide this effect. Is there any explanation for this? If I ask my GP she just goes blank-eyed as nutrician, energy and sports is not something taught at medical school.
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My first guess would be the improve insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning that comes with anaerobic training, though I could be off.0
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »My first guess would be the improve insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning that comes with anaerobic training, though I could be off.
I'm thinking along those lines as well, though wonder why running doesn't have the same effect. I mean, I just need to do the starter 'level' of yayog to be fine. That's really not much, and quite honestly, I would think running is harder on my legs than to do a few bodyweight squats and lunges.0 -
Good luck, I've been the same way for years and years. I try to stick to no doing no cardio at all (but lots of strength training) and eating slower digesting food as much as possible. It helps a ton but I assume it's just insulin sensitivity problems (likely genetic, my father is Type 1 diabetic) and/or insulin resistance problems.0
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They do oral glucose tolerance blood test - they will make you crash and then take blood during to compare.
Sounds like you need it.
At that speed after eating, you won't even have to wait the normal long period.
Could be mighty helpful.
Could be mighty simple to fix - like eating good ratio of carb-prot-fat with every snack/meal, and eat the fat and protein first.0 -
They do oral glucose tolerance blood test - they will make you crash and then take blood during to compare.
Sounds like you need it.
At that speed after eating, you won't even have to wait the normal long period.
Could be mighty helpful.
Could be mighty simple to fix - like eating good ratio of carb-prot-fat with every snack/meal, and eat the fat and protein first.
Well, my GP doesn't see any need for action, thus I once did a test myself using the right amount and type of sugar (ugh, glucosade! I don't like sweet drinks) and a massive amount of glucose sticks. There was nothing unusual, and on that occasion I did not crash either. Thus no idea. As my brains are not really working when I have a crash I also don't manage to get a test done then.
One thing with fats though is that I don't digest them properly. Never did, also not as a child. I'll spare you the details, but lets just say that there's no point in eating more fat than the standard mft recommendation. My guess is that of those, about 250kcal max are not absorbed as this is how much higher my calorie needs to stay on the same weight are. Which is quite a lot as I'm female, over 40, small and not heavy.0 -
Good luck, I've been the same way for years and years. I try to stick to no doing no cardio at all (but lots of strength training) and eating slower digesting food as much as possible. It helps a ton but I assume it's just insulin sensitivity problems (likely genetic, my father is Type 1 diabetic) and/or insulin resistance problems.
I've been trying to find a proper gym for ages, but no success. A tiny flat with wooden floors and thick, fluffy carpet is not ideal. And the only gym with a squat rack that I found plays such a hard music that I'd need to wear earplugs in there. It's just an overall very unpleasant place. Plus their weights are made for strong guys, not small women with a muscular problem. I mean, 2kg extra on an overhead press would not lead to an increase in strength but an injured muscle unfortunately. And I can't even do this lift with an empty olympic bar. I still try to do at least bodyweight exercises again now as it will prevent the crashes. Not easy though on an unstable ground.
Running is a must for me though as it helps against feeling depressed. Better this than going on medication.0 -
This totally used to be me. I've even had an oral glucose tolerance test with each pregnancy and they always come out normal because my crash is at the 45 min mark and by the time they take blood at the 1 hour mark I've recovered and blood glucose is normal.
I can't say that strength training ever helped mine that I noticed, but intermittent fasting has totally cured it. In the beginning I used coconut oil in my coffee to get past the morning lows, but after I think about 3 months I didn't need it any more. I did start slow, gradually increasing fast time by 15-30 min every few days, I don't think I would have survived jumping straight into 16:8 from where I started. Even when I eat sugary things now I don't get the crashes. It's so nice not to have that jittery, shaky, exhausted, nauseous, verge of passing out feeling of being low plus not having to worry about constantly having some kind of food on you at all times because you might be anywhere when you desperately need to eat right now.
Mine was getting worse as I got older, glad it's finally gone. Not sure IF would be a cure for everyone, but you might want to give it a try.0 -
tcunbeliever wrote: »This totally used to be me. I've even had an oral glucose tolerance test with each pregnancy and they always come out normal because my crash is at the 45 min mark and by the time they take blood at the 1 hour mark I've recovered and blood glucose is normal.
I can't say that strength training ever helped mine that I noticed, but intermittent fasting has totally cured it. In the beginning I used coconut oil in my coffee to get past the morning lows, but after I think about 3 months I didn't need it any more. I did start slow, gradually increasing fast time by 15-30 min every few days, I don't think I would have survived jumping straight into 16:8 from where I started. Even when I eat sugary things now I don't get the crashes. It's so nice not to have that jittery, shaky, exhausted, nauseous, verge of passing out feeling of being low plus not having to worry about constantly having some kind of food on you at all times because you might be anywhere when you desperately need to eat right now.
Mine was getting worse as I got older, glad it's finally gone. Not sure IF would be a cure for everyone, but you might want to give it a try.
There's no way I could do it. I mean, often it needs 10 minutes past my usual time to get a crash. Besides, I've been doing endurance training for many years now and try to improve things this way. I always run without gels or similar things and whenever I feel that this is the end I still go on a bit more. So far there has been no improvement at all. I have the feeling that not digesting fats well does play a role here. I basically live off carbs and protein, thus some food that digests slower and provides energy later is pretty much missing. I do make sure I mainly eat slow carbs of course but that does not help too much. Plus I guess always being deficient in all sorts of minerals and vitamins doesn't help either. I just wish I could find a doctor that knows something about this, but knowledge is so limited.0 -
When I tried to talk to my doctor about it he basically didn't care. My glucose test was normal, end of discussion, check the box, we're done here. The fact that I felt terrible during the test at the 45 min mark was totally not a consideration from his point of view, my test was normal so there was nothing that required treatment.
Maybe an herbalist would be a better candidate for a discussion? Or a naturopath? One of the more crazy non-doctor versions of a doctor?0 -
Hmm.. not sure. I'm still into evidence based medicine. Fact is; I've never seen low blood sugar. When I did this tolerance test I sampled every 10 minutes for three hours. No values over 140 if I remember correctly, but nothing really low either. 86 or so might have been the lowest. Maybe it really is just hunger and lack of energy, and nothing else.0
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Are you on a deficit diet or maintenance?
If deficit - how much would you estimate it to be?
If actual loss - how much weekly about?0 -
Are you on a deficit diet or maintenance?
If deficit - how much would you estimate it to be?
If actual loss - how much weekly about?
Maintenance. Calculators give me about 1540kcal plus sport. Though my intake to stay on weight is closer to 1800 plus sport. I know, food scale and all. Of course I do
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Right, day two after picking up some mild strength training again. Day two without crash. I'm completely sore and my muscles still feel weak, but I guess that's worth it.0
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My sister is hyperglycaemic... I would stress the importance of getting it confirmed by a doctor. A really bad attack could leave you unconcious/coma.0
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Squatsandbench wrote: »My sister is hyperglycaemic... I would stress the importance of getting it confirmed by a doctor. A really bad attack could leave you unconcious/coma.
Squats, I've tested it extensively. My glucose levels never go anywhere near high values. I've never found any really low ones either, even when testing every 15 minutes after a meal. Might be worth checking whether the whole range is even smaller when doing strength training.
One thing is certain: When I don't do strength I'm usually hungry again at 10:00 if I had breakfast at 09:00 (even a full English) while I feel great for most of the day when eating exactly the same at the same times and doing strength training. Which probably means that if I ever have to lose weight again that I need to do strength training as I could not eat less.0
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